Let's say that you roll into the local gas station, insert the nozzle of the gas pump into your vehicle and begin filling the fuel tank. Just as the tank is topped off and you are about to take the nozzle out of the car, your phone rings with an important call.

Distracted, you take the call, wander back to the driver's seat, start your car up and drive off with the nozzle still inserted.

Embarrassing, sure. But it's not a total disaster because fuel pumps at the nation's gas stations are equipped with breakaway valves that seal off on both ends. That ensures that a huge fuel spill doesn't happen and guards against a possible fire.

A similar scenario occurs every day in hospital rooms across the nation, says Dr. Ryan Dennis. Dennis works at an Oklahoma City hospital as a hospitalist, a physician who specializes in caring for patients ill enough to be admitted.

Dennis is founder and CEO of Linear Health Sciences, which created patented breakaway technology called the Orchid Valve to prevent accidental disconnects of IV tubing from patients in the hospital.